Rebirth Jive
by just a whimsy
Summary: Faye's got some major issues she's got to face after Spike leaves that puts her on a long road, destination: unknown. *updated* how are they gonna get out of this one??
1. Rebirth Jive, part 1

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Disclaimer: Cowboy Bebop and it's characters aren't mine, and very sadly won't ever be...

"Umphmmm."

Pain. Pain and haziness; it was all I had to go by. I had woken up before, in my drugged up state, and had eaten and gone back to sleep. Or fallen unconscious. I couldn't recollect everything on why I was here, but I remembered waking up in hospitals before. I remember in particular one hospital that had shaped my personality. Well a second one, I remembered having a personality before that...

No. That wasn't right. A second personality? Two lives? How is that possible? Oh, that's right, I've had amnesia, which was what, partially, had landed me in a hospital. When my personality had become split, when I had had two lives and many more in between. That and those I had lived with. I'm sorry if I'm confusing you, let me explain as I remember...

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COWBOY BEBOP:

Rebirth Jive

Yeah, yeah, I know, very short. Just keep reading...there actually **is** a plotline (as hard as it may seem to believe...I know...)


	2. Through Faye's Eyes

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Disclaimer: Ok, I don't own Cowboy Bebop or it's characters, blah blah. Everyone knows that *glare*. What is unusual is that in order to *ahem* set up the story properly I had to recount the last eppys in Faye's POV. So really, the plotline and most of the speech isn't mine either (okay, don't even start). Actually I took all of the speech that involves Faye from the show. Directly from the show. So it isn't mine (so you can't sue me. Cuz i'm penniless...well, ok, maybe not _penniless_, but I am dollarless...) Really, I can write on my own...if you just hurry up and read this chapter you can go to the next one, and I'll prove it!

So what are you waiting for?

Well. My story really began when I remembered my past, but we'll just skip that boring part and cut to the chase. It gets interesting when Jet urged Spike to leave, you know, to find his 'lost love'. Yeah, whatever, if you believe he actually _had _a love. But, well, that's what happens, and truly, this is _his_ fault, all that transpires in my retelling was caused by his stupid act. Or rather by his 'love' for that stupid naive girl. Ok, she wasn't that stupid. Or a girl. But that's not the point. The point is, really, that I find myself in all this mess. No, trust me, it's not stupidly sentimental. You know how I am. If you don't know _who_ I am now, then you are really behind. But just for you slow people, I'm Faye Morshigo. My name used to be Faye Valentine, but after I remembered my past, I switched names...or rather, I still do, depending on my mood.

Whatever, I'm off subject now. This is really a story of pain and junk, ya know. All that landed me in this crummy hospital. But anyhow, I'll start to tell you now. So, back to the misery.

*_flashback_*

"Spike, can you still fly? Don't worry about us, just go." I heard over the comm. _Nooo_, I wanted to scream. It really made no sense; why was I so attracted to the bastard?

"Find what you lost and get it back. Go!" I could have literally strangled Jet at that instant. But I couldn't, and it wouldn't have changed anything anyhow. So I watched Spike do a flip over the deck of the ship, and fly off. No goodbyes, just gone. Men are the reason why so many cry. I was ashamed at myself when I felt tears welling.

Goodbye, Cowboy.

*

I thought for sure that was it. I wasn't perfect; I'm far from it. I landed in the Bebop, Jet already preparing for a landing. Well, a nicely done crash, at any rate. I could feel the Bebop shaking and trembling with the strain of it.

It was then that I decided that I couldn't leave Jet alone. Not with his longtime partner gone. I'd just stick around to keep his mind off it, until he found someone else. Then I'd leave, and just drift away, as I had done quite well before they'd found me. It's not like anyone cared about me.

I wandered around for awhile, after watching Jet hobble around the Redtail, figuring the damage total. For all his whining and grumbling, he'd always do his share of the work, right up to the last overdone meal or screwed-in bolt. That's what I never did get about him. He's honest and caring, in his own grumbling little way, and he won't ever give up. And he's always there for his comrades, no matter how much he'd complain. 

My wandering took me to a hallway Jet had moved to, apparently still fixing the ship. I just kept walking, ignoring him as usual.

"You're a very lucky woman." He spoke up gruffly as he caught sight of me.

"Yeah, right. My timing is perfect for getting shot at and merely killed. I'm really on a role." I replied sarcastically. Couldn't he tell I wanted to be left alone?

"The Redtail won't be functional for awhile." He continued, contradicting his earlier statement.

"You're having some pretty good luck yourself. That Spike, he was nothin' but trouble. He's probably not coming back. They may have killed him already, you know." I spoke lightly, without a care in the world. I knew it would get a reaction from him. If he wouldn't cut to the point, then I would.

"It's possible." Jet replied warily, not taking the bait. Yeah, he always saw past a facade, never let his anger get him down, and always knows what's right. I stayed silent, patiently waiting for him to wear down. I didn't have to wait long.

"So what, you want me to go looking for him? Forget it. He's dealing with his own past. It's his fight." Bingo.

"You told him to go after her." I replied snippily, glaring at him. Then, for once, he allowed his anger to show. He grabbed the collar on my shirt and pulled me up, as if I was some common punk that needed a telling to.

"My leg is ripped. My ship is busted. Hell yes, he was nothin' but trouble, and I don't give a damn." He held my shirt for a little longer, as if to make sure I got his point, before letting me down. We turned away from each other.

"So what kinda woman is she? What's Julia like?" He asked softly, as one will after they've given up.

"Ordinary. The kind of dangerous beautiful ordinary that you just can't leave alone." I told him wistfully, in my mind comparing myself to that flawless creature.

"I see." _No you don't, _I thought.

"Like an angel from the underworld. Or maybe a devil from paradise."

"Oh."

"A magnetic enigma who is irresistible."

"Huh."

We were silent for a few moments.

"Spike is probly long gone anyhow." I couldn't keep the bitterness out of my voice. I left him standing there, almost running to my room, like a girl throwing a tantrum might. I noticed nothing until I threw myself onto my bed, shaking with sobs that threatened to escape my lips. This wasn't like me. I didn't know what was wrong. I was happy Spike had left, right? One less annoyance in my life. It was good he'd left before I had strangled him. Good. _Good. _Hell, I didn't know what to do anymore. My mental state was bad, my social skills are bad, my credits are bad, my relationships are bad...I just figured, maybe if I thought hard enough that something is good, it would be.

I sighed wearily, thinking self-pity never got anyone anywhere. I fell asleep.

*

A ship roared in, waking me up. Drowsily I got some water, and after drinking it I wandered over to the lounge area, half-listening to the low voices coming from there. I yawned, thinking, how strange, it sounds just like Jet and...

"Spike?" I almost yelled. As it was, I kept it to an excited whisper. I edged closer, absent-mindedly realizing I held my gun, and heard some nonsense about cats, which I ignored. 

I ducked out of sight when Spike got up, and when my heart had slowed down enough to be able to hear I heard Jet ask, "Is it for the girl?"

I froze; waiting as in agonizing silence Spike answered. The question could only mean one thing; Spike was going out again, and this time he would be killed.

"She's dead. There's nothing I can do for her now."

Dead...I felt a multitude of emotions welling up inside of me. I was sad for Julia, surprisingly enough, sad for Spike, for some reason, and a small seed of happiness, as morbid as that is. However, none of my feelings meant jack-shit at the moment, as Spike was leaving again, and Jet was letting him leave. Encouraging him, even.

I backed up, ready to ambush the bastard. I was not, _refused_ to, let him leave without me digging my claws in. I stood at a conjunction between two halls, trembling with cold fury and other unrecognizable emotions as I waited. Finally he stepped into my trap.

"Where ya goin'?" I put my gun to his head. He merely looked at me, his expression deadpan.

"Why are you going?" I asked, anger forcing it's way into my voice. He just stared, as if waiting for an explanation for all this. His look was one that you'd expect to get from one intent on disaster, and it was begging me to just let him be. 

But I was frustrated and scared. To hell with Spike's feelings; it was time he realized that he couldn't dance on people's feelings, only treading lightly when it came to his precious Julia and his past. His past, damn it, was where the problem started.

"You told me once to forget the past, cuz it doesn't matter," I paused, to let that statement sink into his stupid little brain before yelling, "But you're the one tied to the past, Spike!" He stared at me for a second longer, his expression never changing, before turning towards me, stepping closer and bending to look me in the eye.

Close contact has never phased me; but then again, Spike has always been the exception to any rule. He was the unexpected and danger, rolled in one. I could almost smell his cologne, but the scent was buried under the acrid smell of smoke and dust.

"Look at my eyes, Faye." He ordered me softly. I think I was scared of him; he's like Julia, the dangerous kind that attracts you until you're caught, only he doesn't realize it, entirely. His voice was low and hard, like it sounds when you've either given up or are determined to do something, or die trying.

"One of them is a fake, cause I lost it in an accident. Since then, I've been seeing the past in one eye, and the present in the other. So I thought I could only see patches of reality, never the whole picture."

"Don't tell me things like that." My voice was shaking, like it had after Whitney. It hardened, much like I had, "You never told me anything about yourself. So don't tell me now!" It was true. And I had feelings for this asshole, I realized. Maybe if he just left, I could forget him. But if he took time now...

"I felt like I was watching a dream I'd never wake up from. Hmph." His expression lightened a bit, in a sadistic kind of way, as if he were satisfied with my reaction. "Before I knew it, the dream was all over." He straightened and moved around me, as if he was going to just leave me forgotten. But I wasn't done with him. If he was going to leave then I would give him something to make him think. If anything could make him think.

"My memory finally came back," I told him haltingly. Who knew, maybe he could learn something, "but, nothing good came of it. There was no place for me to return to. This was the only place I could go." I saw him stiffen in my peripheral vision, though from what I could only guess. I plunged on, "and now you're leaving, just like that."

I remembered when I had first met him, in a casino, smiling at me as I slowly cheated him, while he'd known all along. They had let me in, when they could've kicked me out. I didn't want it to shatter, like a perfect crystal plate.

"Why do you have to go?"

Julia was dead. Revenge wasn't really all that sweet; victory was claimed and you were left empty, your life's purpose like a dry, dead leaf. He could stay here. And besides, he knew, or should know, that Jet, or I, would go with him, even though it wasn't our fight.

But maybe that was it.

"Where are you going?" My voice became smaller.

I wanted to cling to him, grab his legs and weep like a small girl. Mt pride wouldn't let me tell him that I needed him. He was like a brother, and sometimes, I wished more. I knew what would happen; one can't take on a group of people single-handedly and walk away uninjured. If he went alone, no one would be there to sit by his side as he woke up from his injuries.

"What are you going to do, just throw your life away like it was nothing?"

I turned to him, willing him to hear my thoughts, to look at me and tell me that I didn't matter. That Jet didn't matter. To tell me that he was going to go, all by himself, on a suicide mission.

Spike. He's careless to the end, leaving no room for anyone else but himself. His life wasn't nothing. Julia was dead, but I, and Jet, as well as Ed and Ein somewhere, were still living.

"I'm not going there to die." He rebuked me softly.

__

Yeah, just like Julia wanted to meet you again just to die.

Spike lifted his head, looking somewhere to a future only he could see. "I'm going to find out if I'm really alive. I have to do it, Faye." His voice was gentle, so gentle that I felt my throat start to close, and my eyes water. I choked back a sob as he started to walk away from me.

_Bang_

I couldn't shoot him. I knew why Jet had let him go.

_Bang_

It was like keeping a bird against its will. It will eventually give up living.

I took in a breath raggedly, choking on my sobs. 

My life.

_Bang_

Spike just kept on walking, not flinching or looking back.

His life.

_Bang_

The Bebop.

_Bang_

Over.

No goodbyes spoken again.

He disappeared into the darkness. I kept my gun up, looking down hopelessly.

"And you, you never stopped to think-" A sob wrenched itself out of me, "Never, e-ever, not about a-anyone else. Y-you could be h-happy-" I just gave up on speaking as the sobs took over. Lies, that's what they were. He was like a child determined to find out what happens when you stick your finger into a flame. You can't hold them back forever, not until they get burned. Or in his case, dead.

*flashback*

"I'm not lucky or skilled."

"Then what are you?"

"Generous."

*

"Hey, Goucho."

"Hey, Romani."

*

"Forget about your past, it doesn't matter. You have a future."

*endflashback*

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Bang

I shot where I had last seen Spike. I took a deep breath. "T-that's gonna cost you, cowboy." 

From then on, I couldn't control myself. Sobs wracked my body, so hard I had to lean against the wall. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I had probably just firmed his resolve. Images of Spike to works we had exchanged, to what had just happened flashed through my mind.

In the end, it was all hopeless.

~*~

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KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, COWGIRL

Whew! Sorry it was so long; I couldn't find a stopping point. I promise the next chapter won't be quite so long. And it will have *gasp* original content!!! Yay!!

Here's a teaser for the next chapter:

"Don't EVEN start, Jet. _I'm _at least going to try." My voice cracked on the last word, and I turned to flee.

"Faye..._Faye_! Don't go like Spike did."

Well, I bet you just got what happens next! See yuh next time!

~*Tree Kat*~


	3. Trials in Vain

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Disclaimer: (why..._why_ must you make me say this??) *sigh* alright, I _don't _own Cowboy Bebop or it's characters, but I do own ..... uh...well, I own....*thinks hard*...well, books...and I know!!! The cab driver *beams* er, well, now that I've bored you, you can read something good!

By the way, most of the chapters will continue directly where the last chapter left off, so you're not left stranded, 'k?

I don't think, in either of my two lives, that I have ever cried so much. I cried not only for what I had lost in Spike himself, but also for what I had just let Spike do. Wasn't it inevitable that Spike was gonna get himself killed it he went in all by himself? If only he had a partner...

That was it. Suddenly forgetting to cry I wiped my wet face and ran to the comm. unit in the bridge, slamming into walls and tripping over furniture in my haste. I arrived at the comm. system, breathless and excited. I dialed the operator and got a number to call.

"Hongo's Mars taxi service, anywhere, anytime. How may I help you?"

"Hi, I need a cab, uh," I cast around frantically for the slip of paper that held our whereabouts. "Big ship, 1 mi NE of the Mars Battle Memorial. Big smoke trails. Can't miss it."

"Y'okay. Ah, we'll get someone there in about-"

"I'm in a rush; I'll pay extra."

The man, greedy of course, looked up from whatever he'd been messing with, "In about fif-teen minutes." He flashed what I guessed was supposed to be a charming smile.

"Thanks for your service. Bye." I hung up. Weapons, definite need of weapons. I ran around, gathering up whatever explosive devices Spike had left behind. I loaded my own gun.

"I've already watched you leave to kill yourself once, Spike."

I changed my clothes to black. Black boots, black boot cut pants, a black tank top with a red heart pierced by a silver sword stitched in, and a black thigh-length coat.

"I'll be damned if I watch you go a second time without going with you."

I started to put my weapons on my person, and after I had finished with that I wrote a note to Jet.

"And I'll go to hell if I have to bury you before I say 'goodbye'," 

The taxi roared up, a bit louder than I'd hoped for. I had wanted to go without having to confront Jet, but as I ran to the hatch, I heard him calling.

"Faye? Faye! What shit are you pullin', huh?" Jet looked the frustrated father as he stepped in front of me.

"I'm going to go put some actual brains in that fuzzy-haired maniac." I replied calmly.

"Spikes gonna die." Jet was resolute in his prediction. I looked up, surprised. "Sitting Bull- I, uh- he- he saw it in his dreams."

I stared at Jet, and narrowed my eyes. I strode up to him and grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down to my eye level.

"Ed and Ein are gone. Spike has gone haring off. I've remembered my memories, and my _real _family is gone. Suddenly, it seems the only person left is the one I thought would keep us all together.

"I'm going to put my only place left to go, and the only people left in my life, back into order, piece by piece, starting with Spike. I will bring him back. Alive. And no half-witted Indian chief lunatic is going to tell me that his _dream _is the end-all, see-all future for ONE STUPID MAN! You got that?" Jet stared at m silently, carefully removing my hand from his collar. "Faye-"

"Don't EVEN start, Jet. _I'm _at least going to try." My voice cracked on the last word, and I turned to flee.

"Faye..._Faye_! Don't go like Spike did." That stopped me and I turned, smiling grimly. "Oh yeah. See you around, Jet. I'll need you to pick me, and Spike's shot up ass, up later. Until later!"

"Augh...Faye!"

I ran out, laughing in triumph, until I climbed into the cab, where I calmed down enough to order, "Take me into the city. You know where the Red Dragon Syndicate is?"

The man gasped, turning to look at me fearfully. "Red Dragons? I-I don't know nothin', 

I-"

"Just friggin' take me there! I'm in a pissy mood, but I'll pay extra, or you won't have to worry bout money, or anything else, any-whoah!" He floored it, and we sped, slowly to be sure, to the only place I was sure that Spike had gone.

*

"Argh! I don't give a single damn about your license or whatever, you asshole! I need to get-to-the-headquarters. NOW!" I didn't care how I appeared, either. There had been an accident in some store, and all the streets were blocked, preventing us from going any farther.

"Go through them, damn it!" I started to shake the poor cab driver.

"Miss-uh-I can't do that -augh! - not unless you -er- want the cops down on you-" I stopped shaking him, my eyes narrowed to slits.

"Fine." He cowered at my suddenly icy calm voice as I let him go. I thrust a wad of W at him.

"Whoa, thanks!"

"Shove it." I climbed out of the car, whipped around, and caught the door.

"What?" The cab driver sounded annoyed, which in turn infuriated me. What would it take to make this guy show some respect?

"Where's the syndicate headquarters?" I hissed. He got a sly look about him, so I pulled a gun, and suddenly enough, he was docile. He stammered out the directions and I flung a bill at him, not even bothering to shut his door.

I soon found out, though, that running through streets at dawn, and trying to find the syndicate, was no easy thing. I got into two fights, which I won, of course, making me bleed and giving me severe frustration. I was right around that time really pissed off. I couldn't find the headquarters and I was being attacked before I even got into the stupid building.

Finally I jogged around a corner, and there the cursed thing sat, glass laying around it's base like little pieces of stars, glinting in the morning sun, while the windows of the syndicate were dark and twisted: dead and empty. A little shiver found its way down my back at the sight of destruction. It was the work of a huge fight, and from all the windows that were blown out; it looked like Spike had gotten to the top.

I only hoped I wasn't too late, as I ran through the blown-out doorways into the syndicate, where a scene of carnage greeted my eyes. I winced and ran to the elevator, pushing buttons to go to the top. It had looked like the roof had been blown off, which meant that Spike had to be on the top floor.

"Stay alive for me, huh?" I whispered in the silence of the elevator, the wait driving me out of my mind. I was never one to wait when a comrade was in danger, and the elevator was certainly no exception.

When it stopped I ran out, gun up, but to my intense disgust, I wasn't at the top floor. 

"_Damn _it," I cursed, punching a wall only to recoil at the pain it afforded me. Cursing some more I ran, shaking my already bruising knuckles as I tried to find stairs or another elevator. It wasn't too hard, considering the path of dead bodies that Spike had left as the way he'd gone.

I found another elevator and stepped inside, and the button I pushed with a trembling hand read 'top floor'. This was it. I'd either be pushed into action or already grieving when I reached the top. All I had to do was suffer the intolerable wait, which I did by pacing.

I absolutely refused to think about the future. All that would do was put me into a serious downward spiral that I couldn't afford to take. The elevator chimed its end and the doors opened. I took a very deep breath, trembling as I put up my gun and hoped that I wouldn't be killed before I could reach Spike. Or that I wouldn't hinder him, as I had so often done.

I leaped out of the elevator like some action chick might do, rolled and crouched, gun up and ready to shoot. Unfortunately for my already overloaded nerves, no one was there. I got up, shaking and laughed nervously. 

I walked up five steps and through the twisted remnants of a doorway.

"Make it through, Spike, or so help me, I'll drag you out of whatever hell you're in and put you in a worse one." I muttered, nervousness and anger clashing with undesirable effects in my stomach.

The wind played eerie tunes through twisted and blackened metal as I surveyed a graveyard of bodies. A whole group of them at the foot of a blood-red staircase, and one more at the top. It triggered a gasp from me as I started to run, desperation quickening my already hard-working heart.

"Spike?" I shouted, running up the stairs, my breath catching in my throat in a curse as I reached the top. Instead of the bastard I wanted to see, it was a son of a bitch asshole. Vicious.

"I see you got pegged. But where's Spike?" There was no victory in the fact that Vicious was finally dead. No delight in the fact that the devil could no longer plague us in the form of a man. Just an extreme sense of weariness and defeat. Could I ever do anything right? I probably should have just stolen Jet's ship and then maybe I'd actually have made it in time to help Spike.

I dully noticed, as I stared in forlorn defeat at the ground, dark stains in the carpet, the rusty brown of dried blood. Only it wasn't in spots, as you'd expect in a bloody fight, but a large pool. And it wasn't Vicious's; it was pooled near him, but not below him. As if someone had stood, bleeding, for a long time. A small spark lit up in my brain as I followed little drips away from the pool, and down the stairs, where they suddenly stopped and pooled again.

I looked up in consternation, once again noticing the group of men that lay dead at the foot of the stairs. The spark suddenly burst into a tiny flame as an idea of what happened took form in my head.

Spike had killed Vicious, stood next to him for a while, and then started to walk away. Meanwhile, a group of syndicate men gathered, watching Spike until he'd collapsed on the stairs. Then there'd been a battle between the men for some sort of supremacy before one group had won and took Spike away. I growled, suddenly very angry. If Spike was to be further harmed- but then there was a chance that he was the new leader. It made for interesting thought, although not so pleasant, in my opinion.

Hell, we were going to need help for this one. I ripped a piece of my coat off, and tried to soak up some of the blood I thought was Spike's. I couldn't get any from the stairs or the drips, but the large pool next to Vicious was still a little wet. My brow creased in concern. He'd had to stand there for a very long time for that amount of blood to collect. It was a lot of blood he'd lost.

I walked back down the stairs, silently brooding. Someone was going to pay. Faye Valentine may not be so good at getting what she wanted, but Faye Morshigo had _always _gotten her wish. I'd make sure of that. Someone would pay very, very dearly.

~*~

__

KEEP DANCING' WITH DEATH, COWBOY

Wow, sorry so long, I never intended it to be _that _long...hehe, whenever I type stuff up, it's always longer than what I have written down...go figure.

Oh well, I know for a fact that the next chapter will be shorter...at least in it's written form ;). R&R, you know the author _loves_ that. :D 

hmmm...should I give u a teaser? Nope...what I have written down is _way _too short for that. Hehe...sorry. I'll try to get the next chapter up quickly, I already have it written down, all I have to do is type it up. The only problem is that I hate typing -.- Sooo, maybe in a week or two?? Until then, my appreciated readers (i'll luv u more if u review!)

~| Treekat |~*


	4. The Road Home

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Disclaimer: ........hmph. You know very well that I don't own Cowboy Bebop or it's characters. The owners (or their lawyers or whoever) just want me to say it to rub it in. It's a conspiracy, I say!!!!

.......er.....hehe, ignore that little outburst....

just wanted to let y'all know that i'm not going to apologize about whether or not the story is in my opinion too short or long. What is my opinion but useless?? Jeez, all I am is the author...if u guys think its too long/short not enough action/content WHATEVER _u_ tell _me. _Hence the whole purpose of reviewing (did i mention that i LOVE reviews??)....so review, k? Suggestions are always welcome and may i say that calling my work crap (although im sure none of u ppl would say such a thing ^.^) is not a suggestion. Alright, if u for some reason or another didn't skip my little ramblings then i'll let u read what u came to read ~.^

~*-~*-~*-~*-~*-

I walked out of the syndicate, frustration pumping through my veins. All of that stress and worry, and I hadn't had a good fight. It was very disappointing, not to mention all the pent up energy I had was making me need to do something...such as hurt something, or rather, someone.

I walked briskly down the street, noticing the small signs of the city waking up. Still, though, I say no cops rushing to the scene of the Red Dragon headquarters, which didn't exactly speak well for the law enforcement, if they were that lazy or scared to at least see the building.

I looked around for the gangs that had been so prevalent when I hadn't needed them, but I was totally alone in the alleys, except for the usual drunks sleeping along the sides. There were no payphones, either, and the streets were still unusually empty. Grumbling to myself, I wondered how I could get back to Jet. I'd need his help to find Spike, as he'd disappeared without a trace.

Well, almost without a trace. The blood I'd soaked up would be good in finding out if it really _had_ been Spike that had fought Vicious. I sighed, resisting the urge to lash out at a wall and further bruise my hand. I looked at the wall wistfully, before noticing a man in front of me, swaggering in my direction with a cocky grin that meant trouble.

I turned around and sure enough, two more were coming up behind me. A smile found its way onto my face as I evaluated the men. Easy prey: this was going to be fun.

"Hey, cutie," the one in front suddenly spoke up, his voice harsh in the still morning air.

"Dump out your money, and maybe we'll go easy on you, huh?" One of the two in the back rasped, before all three started to laugh nastily.

"Why hello." I smiled at them tauntingly, "You know, it's not my habit to get raped or robbed, so you'll have to excuse me when I bow out." I snorted as they looked at each other; all three of them confused. I was sure none of their 'prey' had ever spoken comprehensive words to them.

"Get 'er!" The man in front yelled.

"Ooh, not so loud, they're not deaf, ya know," I admonished, advancing to meet the one in front with a punch to the face, which he took with a rather satisfying surprised look, before I ducked with a sweep of my leg, to spill another on his back.

"Ow," I muttered, shaking the hand I'd bruised earlier.

The man's head hitting the pavement cracked loudly as I hopped back and stood in a crouch before disdainfully dispatching the last with a kick to the chest followed by another kick to the stomach.

I looked down at them; surprised they'd already been knocked out. Daintily rubbing my knuckles I shook my head in disgust as I stepped over the one I'd hit first, when suddenly my foot was grabbed and yanked.

Cursing with surprise I dropped and rolled, coming back swiftly to my feet to face him. He charged at me like an idiot, swinging his fists as if he could hit me. I grinned as I sidestepped his charge, aiming a kick at his butt to hurry him along. He howled his rage, turning around to regard me before taking out a knife, eyes glinting as he looked behind me, his cohorts probably up.

While he stupidly looked behind me I kicked his knife hand at the wrist, flinging the knife up and away, before I feinted a punch to his face and landed one in his stomach. Another followed that, which he clumsily blocked with an arm, before I hit him in the face: a finishing blow. He staggered back, eyes rolling up rather comically, and fell heavily.

I turned to face the other two, but only one was up, charging towards me with a knife extended. I rolled my eyes and ducked left, grabbing his wrist and turning to throw him over me. He fell with a loud "oof" and stayed still.

_Very _satisfying, I thought to myself, grinning like an idiot. 

"Pathetic," I scoffed, dusting myself off before blowing the downed men a kiss. I sauntered down the alley, most of my frustration gone. If only I could find a way back to the Bebop. I concentrated on all the logical solutions half-heartedly; not paying any attention to the road when I stepped out onto it, thinking it was empty.

Skidding tires and a loud horn made me jump back to see a taxi come to a stop before me. Perfect. I climbed in after the man yelled at me about watching where I was going in the Goddamn streets, thinking that other than the obvious; the day wasn't _so _bad.

"Where y' headed?" He drawled out slowly, as if reluctant to give me a ride.

"One mile NE of the Mars Battle Memorial. There's a big ship that crash-landed there, which is where I need to go." I leaned back, ready to ignore the man the whole 45-minute trip back.

The man turned to stare at me. "You!" At his exclamation I looked at him, recognizing him as the cab driver I'd had earlier.

"You." I narrowed my eyes at him; he'd wasted a lot of my time.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked slyly, a little smirk on his face. I frowned at him, but answered peevishly, "The Red Dragon's leader annoyed me, so I had to kill him. Could you go now?" I raised an eyebrow at him, in all seriousness, as he stared at me, mouth half-open, as if debating whether or not to believe me. What a gullible man.

"Any day now, Mr. Cab Driver." I added in an impatient order. After another few seconds of staring he turned around and hit the gas pedal, snapping my head back with the sudden acceleration. 

"Ow!" I complained.

After about half an hour into the ride, during which he'd looked at me nervously around 20 times from his rear-view mirror, he cleared his throat, "Uh, lady?"

"Yes?" I purred.

"Did you- Did you really kill..._him_?" He asked in a hushed voice. I debated playing with him, before deciding on a partial truth.

"Not really," I demurred, "he was already dead when I got there. Saved me the trouble of killing him," I added whimsically. Silence suddenly loomed up like a giant wave, almost palpable it was so thick.

"Vi-Vicious dead?" The man was hunched over his steering wheel, fear drenching his words. I knew the feeling, although I would never admit to it. Which, as Faye Valentine is _never _empathetic or sympathetic, seriously annoyed me, as I felt the emotions stirring to life within me.

"Well if lying in a pool of your own blood without breathing or moving doesn't constitute dead, then no." I replied in a sarcastically sweet voice, which apparently went over his head.

"Really dead!" He breathed, "why, this means-" he cut off, suddenly humming something happily. I just shook my head and ignored him.

When we finally got to the Bebop, I got out slowly, not wanting to have to do anything else but eat and go to sleep. I dug around in my pockets for some bills to pay him, but he waved a hand in protest.

"Naw, don't worry about it. On me." He laughed, speeding away.

Abruptly I wondered how he knew who Vicious was, and stared after his cab uneasily, but put it behind me as Jet yelled from the hatch, "Is Spike dead?" I stared after the cab for a few more seconds, knowing that Jet was probably waiting for the affirmative so he could say in a grave voice, "I told you, Faye, Sitting Bull said he'd die!" I could hear it now.

"Well, is he?" I turned towards him, seeing him with his hands on his hips with that ridiculous apron and chef's hat. I sighed.

"I dunno." I started trudging towards him.

"Well is he alive then?"

"I dunno." Jet stared at me, eyebrows lowered.

"Is he in a hospital?"

"I don't know, okay?" I replied, shoving past him into the ship.

"Did you get to the Syndicate okay? Another cab came after you left, claiming to be from some Hongo's Cab Service or whatever..." He trailed off as I stared at him.

"Yeah, fine." I replied, thinking, the cab driver is long gone, just like...

"So what happened, then?" Jet asked, plopping down onto a couch. 

I laughed, "It's a lot worse than him being dead, now we're going to have to work at getting him back, and I mean _really _work." I started, and at his look of surprise I told him the gist of it.

He just stared at me after I'd finished and groaned. "This is gonna be awhile."

~*~

__

YOU GOT A LONG ROAD AHEAD OF YOU, COWGIRL

Whew! I tell you what I do for u guys...that chapter wasn't originally in what i have written down, i just sat down this morning and wrote it up. It took me an hour to write it, and 2 hours to type it. Did i mention before that i hate typing? ugh....i have about seven chapters written up, and because of my screw up now i have to add in more...so sit back guys, cuz you're in for a long haul ~.^ soooooo, tell me, didja like it or what? think it's too short? One of the things i was worried about was that it might be a little boring to u guys, cuz it doesn't seem like the plot is actively going anywhere (hehe, thats why i added in faye beating up those three punks ^.^) tell me if u do think its boring because the next chapter (although i only have half of it done...i really don't know how i'm gonna incorporate this back into my story -.-) has mostly only dialogue, so if u thought this was boring (O.o) then i have some work to do! R&R, its the only way i can determine whether or not im doing good...plus its a great way to get me to work (c'mon guys...this is a once in a lifetime opportunity...get _me _to _work_) hehe, okay i see some of u guys throwing out zzzs so i'll wrap it up. i'll give u a teaser from what i have...(btw, is the teaser actually worth it, or am i just wasting space?ANSWER ME!!!)

"Yeah, Faye. Groan all you want today. Tomorrow, you're gonna get your ass moving and find a bounty job. Today you can find a new way to get the info on the bounties. Groan all you want, but I don't want to hear it tommorow. 

"I'm gonna go back to the gravity generators, I think I can fix those." Jet gave me a reproachful look before he left.

"Ohhh." I groaned in the most frustrated voice I could muster, "I'm not meant for hard work." I complained to the air. Of all the stupid-ass times to go after bounty heads...

OK, then .... wow, i wrote a lot *sheepish grinz* since the ff.net equipment was down for awhile i'll be updating soon... maybe in a couple of days (whenever i get around to typing it up). Other than that i think i like the 1-2 week updates...

|Treekat|~*


	5. Naught Else but Problems

****

Disclaimer: In case you, the reader, didn't know already (which i find hard to believe) i do not, i repeat not, own the show cowboy bebop or it's characters, ideas, whatever. I am but a poor pathetic writer...well technically i'm not really a writer...oh well, you get the point. I do own the cab driver! ^_^ buut i don't think thats a notable accomplishment so i'm just gonna shut up now...yeah, good idea....

alrighty then, all y'alls can read...if there is anyone who is reading my story...i wouldn't know cuz i don't have that many reviews, hint hint (i do appreciate those that i have gotten tho!!! Thanx to those few people!!!) ok........you can read the story now....

~*`~*`~*`~*`~*`~*`~*`

Jet stared at me, his mouth slightly open.

"Gone?" He repeated for the umpteenth time.

"Yeah," I replied shortly

"Gone."

"Mmhmm."

"Without a trace."

"Yup."

"No clues."

"Uh huh."

"Just gone."

"Um yeah, Jet, how many times do you need to hear it?" I snapped in frustration. For a moment he leaned back with a groan, eyes shut. His voice startled me as he yelled, "Of all the damn stupid frickin' things that could've damn well happened!"

His face was mixed between sullen and angry, which in my opinion looked quite funny. I laughed, "Jet you look like you're constipated or something."

"It's not funny, Faye."

"Well, what else is it, then?" I asked him lightly, "Of all the possible situations that could've happened, and I only thought of two, he winds up gone, again. Rather ironic, I think." I said, trying to get him to see it from my point of view. He just sighed.

"Why don't we just let it lie and go back to regular life?"

"Because Jet. What if it was a rival syndicate group who took Spike? Or a group that really liked Vicious? Can you live with knowing that you possibly condemned Spike to death because you just wanted to let it lie?" I demanded passionately. He looked at me, his face contorting back into the sullen/angry look.

"No." He replied grudgingly, as if I'd dragged it out of him.

"Okay, then. We need to find Ed." I started excitedly, in my head already making plans for the recovery of Spike.

"Good luck," he snorted, "she left after you did, back on Earth. It was after we found her father, but he left to go off on some comet hunt. What a crazy man. You know he fought Spike, but without hardly moving he whooped Spike's ass. It was almost funny, and it would've been, if he hadn't been a supposed bounty at the time." Jet had the look of someone remembering good times.

I stared, shocked to the core. Ed had really found her father?

*flashback*

"You belong?" Ed asked in a wondering voice.

"Yes Ed. You have someone waiting for you too. There's somewhere that you belong Edward, you should find out where,"

"Hmm."

*endflashback*

"I…told her something after I left. She's either back with her father now or at the sister's home," I said wistfully, wishing deep down past my jaded heart that I too had a family to escape to.

"What?" Jet looked at me in confusion. If only he knew what it had been like, back on Earth. 

"Just get us to Earth!" I retorted, folding my arms and wishing that this whole situation had not happened and I had never met Jet or Spike. Then I'd still have amnesia, I supposed. There were a few minutes of silence.

"Well?" I asked, staring at him impatiently.

"Well what?" He sounded_ really _confused.

"Aren't you going to set coordinates for Earth or something? Get this hunk of metal off the ground?" I was near to glaring at him in my need to go. I started to tap my foot in irritation at his thick-headedness.

Then Jet started to laugh, roaring his amusement in hearty guffaws. I was entering the pissed off stage as I couldn't really see why Jet chose to be happily entertained now.

"That's great, Faye," he chuckled.

"What? What is so funny? Do you think I'm joking or something?" I hissed, narrowing my eyes, feeling my impatience starting to boil. He ignored the danger signs and stared back at me.

"You mean you really think we can leave? Just leave? …Now?" Jet stared at me, incredulous, a tiny smirk on his weathered face.

"Well…yeah. That's technically how we get to earth. You set the coordinates and start up the engine. We leave." I snapped, crisply enunciating each word for the thickhead.

He snorted contemptuously, "I know very well that you're not a mechanic, Faye, but this is ridiculous. Do you recollect the dogfights at all a couple of nights ago? Do you remember us crashing down here?" He was talking down to me, explaining as if to a not-so-bright child.

"Yes. Get to your point."

"Our ship is too damaged to lift off. We have engine troubles, hull troubles, navigation, shielding, not to mention all the shorted out systems, and the landing equipment," He ticked off all the damaged parts on his fingers. I glowered at him, feeling about ready to go and hit something.

"What exactly have you been doing the past few days?" I yelled, starting to loose control. Time was soooo against us.

He gave me a you've-got-to-be-kidding look. "I've been repairing. Mostly assessing. Most of the stuff needs new parts; I can't just repair from scratch, Faye. We need more money: our funds are next to nothing. Plus we need a whole new tank of fuel. We got a leak, which I fixed by the way, and most of our fuel leaked out when we landed. We were lucky it didn't catch fire or explode. And I do have a busted leg in case you forgot. It isn't exactly the easiest thing to walk around the ship."

I groaned: my answer to all his little complaints.

"Yeah, Faye. Groan all you want today. Tomorrow, you're gonna get your ass moving and find a bounty job. Today you can find a new bounty show you like. So groan all you want. I don't want to hear it tomorrow. I'm gonna go back to the gravity generators, I think I can fix those." He gave me a reproachful look before he left.

"Ohhhh," I said in the most frustrated voice I could muster. "I'm not meant for hard work." I complained to the air. Of all the stupid ass times to have to go after bounty heads.

Resolutely I leaned back and flipped on the TV.

*

"Damn. It. All." I sighed. After thirty minutes of watching bounty shows I had found absolutely none. They either had ditzy women or guys who couldn't act. It was horrible, the stupidity I had to deal with. I ran a hand through my hair.

"Eww!" I exclaimed at the dirty, tangled mess. The last time I'd had a good shower was back on...well damn, that would be back on the Bebop, after Spike had left.

"That is so nasty." I muttered, getting up to trudge over to the bathroom. I grabbed my robe and some fresh clothes on the way over, determined to take a nice long shower and pamper myself afterwards.

I sighed as I wistfully thought of my bed, waiting so readily for me. I supposed I could climb in for awhile, but the chances of Jet waking me up for something or other were way too high for me to even try.

I stepped into the shower, letting the water soak through my hair before reaching for the shampoo. It was sad how much shampoo Spike had to use for his huge cloud of fuzzy hair. I remembered that the bottle had been nearly full the last time I'd used it.

_Spike. You crazy ass where are you?_ I wondered in fond remembrance. Oh, if only I could argue with him one more time, see his eyebrows lower and his eyes get that no-nonsense look. If only.

My ruminations were cut short when the barely warm water suddenly turned into a frigid torrent of ice. So I did the only thing I could.

"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!! JET YOU BASTARD HOW COME YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THE HOT WATER WAS NEARLY OUT?!!!" I screamed as possibly loud as I could, ripping back the curtain to trip over the side of the shower, landing on my face on the hard floor.

"DAMNIT!" I screeched at the floor, before getting up to wrap myself in my robe.

Jet knocked on the door. "Uh, Faye? Sorry but the hot water is probably not working since one of the laser bursts hit though to the–"

"Ya think?" I snarled, ripping open the door to fling my ice-cold washcloth at him.

"I dunno, I kinda figured it out when the damn water turned ICE COLD!!!"

Jet put his hands up in appeasement as I threw other things that were readily accessible at his head.

"Whoa, hold on now Faye! I could probably get the–" I slammed the door with much satisfaction in his face and heard a muffled, "Or not."

"Serves him right." I grumbled.

"Oh by the way there might be someone comi–"

"I don't give a damn, alright?" I cut him off with more satisfaction. I heard him leave and after a few minutes of glaring heatedly at the door I looked warily at the shower. I needed to wash my hair; there was no question to that. But of all the things I hated, taking an ice-cold shower was pretty near the top.

Looking good, however, took more of a priority then my comfort so I took a deep breath and ducked into the deluge of ice, grabbing the shampoo with a stab of reminiscence before the ice cold water slammed me back to the present.

As I tried to shampoo and condition my hair to any effectiveness I yelled out curses and such, damning whoever had done in the hot water supply. I growled and sputtered as the cold water hit my back relentlessly. I had thrown my washcloth into the hallway during my little fit of rage so I didn't have anything to soap. Or maybe I did...

I quickly jumped out, shivering, and wrapped myself in a towel, opening the door. I heard Jet's voice prattling on somewhere as I looked for my washcloth among the many items on the floor.

"Gotcha." I smiled, brandishing my treasure as Jet rounded the corner with a man, talking and gesturing. The last thing I wanted was to let a stranger see me looking for a washcloth outside of the bathroom in a towel. A small towel.

__

Shitshitshitshitshiiiiiit.... I backed up quickly into the bathroom, ready to disappear without a trace when I slipped on some water and landed on my butt, losing my grip on the towel and washcloth. I stared up at the ceiling.

"This is sooo not happening." I growled. The men caught sight of me and stopped, gawking. I grabbed up my robe and washcloth, daring them with my fierce stare to say anything. I hastily pushed myself back into the bathroom with my feet until I could close the door, wishing to be anywhere but there. I was _never _in an embarrassing situation like that. I'm always cool, collected, smooth...

"Perverts!" I shrieked, safely behind the door.

...and bitchy.

"That would be Faye." I heard Jet explain to the man. That was a wonderful first impression, I was sure.

"She doesn't seem so bad." I wondered with a clenched fist exactly what that meant.

Jet chuckled. "Just wait until you live with her for a few weeks."

Oh if only I was out there.

They moved off. All that for a little washcloth. I held it up ruefully and stepped back into the shower, yelping again at the extreme coldness.

"This is such a bad day." I whimpered, wishing Ein was here just so I could torture him. I quickly finished my shower and got dressed, returning to my room to fling my dirty stuff in the hamper and put on the good old war paint, i.e. makeup. 

I suddenly stopped what I was doing to stare into space. I put a hand up to my forehead in abrupt tiredness. That term had been from earth... I remembered it had been my dad who hadn't liked me wearing too much makeup. He'd call it war paint and would tell me it wasn't needed, because I was already beautiful. It wasn't fair. I'd lost good parents for a stupid whim of going into space. I slammed the memory to the back of my mind.

I quickly finished, trying to not remember anything else. Either way, with amnesia or memory it was torture.

I returned to the couch, ready to lounge around and feel some well-deserved pity. Now Jet was apparently showing someone around to live with us. Perfect. Another person to care needlessly for and argue endlessly with. It was unthinkable; I sure as hell didn't want anyone else taking up space here.

"Whatever." I murmured, turning on the TV.

"Today on Bounty Catch we got some sly fellas tracked to the Red Planet. First off we got Feray Polrache, take a look, cowboys an' cowgirls." There was a dataspread much like Big Shot with a full body shot and all the good info. A slow smile started on my face that blossomed into a grin. I had found the bounty show and as it appeared, some easy cash.

~*~

_GO FOR IT, COWGIRL_

*Stretches* Mmmm, that was a pretty good chapter, yeah? Took me about an hour and a half to type up...yeah, yeah I know, I'm a slow typist. Well, I'm way ahead of myself...I already have another chapter written up. Aren't you so proud of me? ^.^ I hope you all R&R, I've been *gasp* thinking (imagine that *shudder*) and while I still don't know which way this will end up before they go to Earth I have some inklings. Next week (or two ~_^) they go after a bounty, and you'll learn about who this new guy is...hmmmm, I wonder. BTW, incase I didn't tell you guys before, since my plotline isn't quite all the way developed (I know where it will be going, I just don't know how I'm getting there) any and all creative suggestions are welcome. If you guys give me any and I like them and want to use them I'll let you know and will give you credit. Alright you guys, REVIEW PLEASE!!! It really does inspire me to write more, plus it makes me feel appreciated and a happy author is a good author, right? OK, so if you are for some unknown reason still reading this I'm amazed. I'll talk at y'all in a week or two...'till then!

~|Treekat|~* 


	6. Worthless Chases

****

Disclaimer: blah blah blah....jeez, this is getting old...anyhow, i don't own cowboy bebop or it's characters or anything associated with that title (except for this story, of course ^.^) only smart and rich people own any kind of widespread anime, and sadly, i am _not_ one of those people. Go figure. Oh yes, however i do own Greg. Whoopee.

~*~

I stared in unbelieving silence at Jet as he laid out his proposal.

"He's the one that I was showing around earlier. The thing is, Faye, if we're working on getting this ship off this planet anytime soon we need lots of money fast. In order to get lots of money fast you need more people. This guy has got an excellent shot, and he's done bounty jobs before. We can use him and we need him. So I proposed a deal to him. He'll help us in return for food and a home aboard the Bebop."

"No." I snorted in derision, lighting up a cigarette and staring at Jet with an I-can't-believe-you-wasted-my-time-with-this look. He knocked the cigarette out of my hand and put it out on the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" I yelled at him as I took out another cigarette, muttering to myself about psychos who didn't know how much cigarettes could cost. He took that cigarette also, as well as the pack, and threw it in the trash. My stare hardened as I watched my little relaxers get thrown away. 

"You had better have an explanation Jet." I warned, narrowing my eyes at him.

"This ship has become non-smoking. That was one of his requirements." Jet explained, no trace of apology in his expression. I glared full out at him, fuming, my eyes narrowed to slits.

"Hell. No." I gritted out between my clenched teeth.

"First of all, this is _my _ship, and it's _my _choice to make, not yours. As for the reason of why I agreed to this condition, it is simply that he has 100,000 W he's willing to give to us. We can be out of here in less than a week with that kind of money. However you will still have to go get bounty heads, as that will cover the repair bill, but not our food," he paused and took a long, measuring look at me. "That means we can find Spike quicker, as well," he added softly.

"When we find Spike, I'm gonna whoop his ass _good_." I growled heatedly, folding my arms and leaning against the wall.

"Is that a yes then?" Jet asked with a smug note in his voice and a smirk on his face.

"F**k you, Jet." I snarled, holding up a finger as I stalked away. I heard his chuckling behind me before I slammed a door in my wake.

*

There was an irritating ringing noise ripping me from my pillow and sleep. It was very loud and annoying. Loud and annoying things deserved to die.

I groped for my gun and when I found it I gripped it hard, bringing it around to shoot the ringing sound. But when my finger moved for the trigger nothing happened. I growled under my breath in frustration.

"I do believe you have to grip the handle of the gun in order to shoot it." Came an amused voice, very serious, above the ringing.

"Ungh." I flung the gun at the voice and heard it clatter to the floor.

"Oh dear, I'm hurt." The voice was sarcastic as well as amused, pissing me off.

I opened one eye slightly to take in the target. Male. Tall. Aggravating.

"You need to get up. We have a bounty to catch."

__

We?Since when was there a 'we' in _my _bounty head?

"Come on, will I have to dump water on your head? Or perhaps ice cubes down your shirt?" He mused, putting a hand to his chin as if to think. If he was capable of that. I doubted any male was capable of that task.

I opened my eyes all the way, regarding him coolly as I raised my head slightly. He raised an eyebrow at me as if wondering when I would comply with his demand. In my slightly dark room he looked an imposing figure, around as tall as Spike with commanding eyes and a slightly arched nose with thin lips, making him look (I had to admit) a little handsome. As of now his features were cast into haughtiness, complete with an arrogant smirk. Currently he was slouching a little with a relaxed air about him, the whole nothing-can-touch-me attitude you'd expect from a teenager.

"Put anything wet or cold on me or down my shirt and you will be in pain." I said mildly, giving my tone an edge. His expression, if anything, changed into a slight sneer, as he stared down at me.

"Huh. I doubt it." He chuckled, his voice a velvety baritone with a smug cast to it.

I raised an eyebrow and, moving quicker than it would take him the time to react, I swung a foot around off of my bed and stopped it directly at his crotch. "Checkmate." I looked up at him, my voice oozing with self-satisfaction.

"Well." He looked down as I applied a little pressure. "That's not good, now is it?" He took a step back and looked at me, something akin to respect lighting his eyes. They abruptly widened slightly as he took another step back. 

"You again?!" He exclaimed, staring at me in amazement for a moment before his features smoothed out. I looked at him in disturbed consternation before my own eyes widened slightly. 

"You." I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him. He returned the stare coolly, his features suddenly blank.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" I snapped, letting my foot drop to the floor as I sat up on my bed, clicking the lights to full. We both squinted in the bright light, ducking our heads slightly. I winced; thinking that maybe full was a bit too much. Yet as my eyes adjusted I got my first good look at him.

He was even better looking in bright light than the slight light I got from my night-light. His eyes were a dark blue, set under thick black brows. He had thick, wavy hair that flopped over his eyes and grew to the back of his neck. He had good physique, but not overbearing. He looked regal as he looked down at me. Just like Spike had, as well as..._Kran_. 

I was instantly wary, fully aware that most syndicate members had the same air, and he was even more under my suspicion, as he _had_ been masquerading as a cab driver.

I leaned back against the wall next to my bed, scowling as I realized who this particular person was. He was the one Jet had been talking about, who had prohibited smoking. For that he instantly earned my damnation, and as to the fact that he was a male and looked like...those two...well, he wasn't going to get an easy time from _me_.

He cocked his head to the side slightly as he stared down at me, a wry grin slowly spreading across his face.

"I think we will make a good team, you and I." He said softly, his voice amused.

"Whatever," I sighed airily, hoping that my sudden nervousness wasn't being conveyed to him. I pushed myself off of my bed, still having to tilt my head up to look at him. This was another thing that wasn't in his favor.

"Will you go away so I can take a shower?" I asked tartly, covering sudden surprise with a scowl as I realized belatedly _exactly_ whom he looked like.

"Just hurry up. We need to get moving. Bounty heads are more...susceptible in the morning." With that he grinned, bowed, and left.

I tried to stop from shaking as I stared after him, biting my lip. He looked like Stev Rawnst. And Stev had been an assassin. Consequently, from the people I'd once had as a second family. The people I'd betrayed. The people who had hunted me for so long.

*flashback*

__

Harsh breathing covered every other sound. It was night, and it was very, very dark. The exact sort of night the assassins loved. The curtains moved slightly in a breeze that chilled the already hostile seeming night. Shadows leapt from the corners and walls in a fair mimicry of killers, and the dark spots were large enough to cover someone crouching, waiting for the exact moment to strike...

I bolted upright; trembling with the nightmare that had been plaguing me ever since I'd left the only place I could call home in this hellhole of a galaxy. I tried to avoid looking at the shadows in my room as I turned over, thinking that I myself had been betrayed, in a way. I hadn't meant to bring my own debts down onto the syndicate, but some things were hard to avoid.

I trembled slightly as I thought of those I had once called friends now hunting me with merciless intent, their eyes now cold and hard towards me...

*end flashback*

I stared more thoughtfully at the door, convincing myself that he looked nothing like Stev. Stev had been shorter, for one thing, and after I'd covered my tracks so well, how could they find me? It had been stupid of me to get so worked up over nothing. I managed to get up, if somewhat shakily, knowing that no matter what I persuaded myself of, I would never truly be convinced that man wasn't Stev.

*

"All right. So I'll slip in first via the air ducts and then you'll come through the door and wake him up, and if he tries to bolt I'll come down like an action heroine and put him out with a knock out spray?" I summed up what my 'partner' had suggested, looking at him as I would an incredibly stupid maniac.

"Greg's idea isn't so bad..." Jet started, rubbing the back of his neck. I swung around to stare at him, eyebrows raised.

"Come again? Why not just sneak in, knock him out and take him to the police?" I suggested, derision curling my upper lip. The two men looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded.

"Sounds alright," Greg said in approval, looking over to Jet, "Your call."

"Yeah, I suppose it could work." Jet agreed, indifference making him look bored. "Just as long as you two bring in the W, it doesn't really matter how you do it. It shouldn't be that difficult of a job."

I rolled my eyes and loaded my gun, pity for myself welling up inside me. Of course it would be an easy job. 

"I work with idiots." I muttered under my breath, glaring at them furtively.

"What?" Greg looked at me curiously; somehow managing to hide his gun utterly, although it took him a few fumbling tries to do it right.

"Nothing. We'd better get going before our opportunity is lost." I opened my eyes wide in guilelessness, which turned into a snort as Greg pulled out a small wooden statue, worn with time and with what looked like much abuse.

"I gotta kiss my tiki man for good luck first." He said earnestly, in all seriousness, and proceeded to do so. Somehow, all of my worries that he was Stev seemed to disappear.

*

"Alrighty then, so if it wasn't for some personal grudge, then why did you go in after the Red Dragons?" Greg asked me in a whining tone similar to that of a teenager. As he had been doing since we had left the Bebop.

"Shut. Up." I growled, quickening my pace by just a hair. The sooner we collected that oh-so-precious bounty head wouldn't be soon enough, especially if it meant staying in Greg's company for a minute longer. Cuteness got you only so far, and not as far as persistently asking questions that weren't any of your damn business. Needless to say I was quite ready to use him as target practice.

"You weren't apart of them, were you?" His voice had a hint of suspicion to it, and his tone carried that of a gossip's.

"Would you just shut up? Didn't Jet fill you in on why you're with us?" I hissed, turning around to scowl at him. He looked down at me for a minute, his eyes dark as he considered something. Abruptly a ghost of a smile flicked on his face for a bare moment, so quickly that I wasn't sure if I'd seen it, and then he was peppering me with questions again.

"No actually he didn't...I'm guessing this had something to do with the syndicate, right? Were you going in there planning to kill Vicious? Or were you going in after someone else? Or did you know someone was trying to kill Vicious and was trying to stop the-" Greg cut off suddenly as I took a step back and ground my heel into his shoe, my full weight behind it.

"_Shut. The hell. Up_." I whispered fiercely into his ear. I ground a little harder into his shoe out of my utter frustration with him, before striding forward as if nothing had happened. 

I heard something akin to a whimper behind me, and then I was climbing up the motel's staircase, taking it two steps at a time.

"That...really wasn't.... necessary." Greg shouted up to me as he clattered up behind me. I turned slightly, regarding him with scorn, and snarled, "If you don't shut up everyone will wake up and then we won't get our bounty head."

Greg stared at me, his lips twitching, then, matching me tone for tone, he proceeded to imitate my voice as well, "Yeah, well, if _you _don't stop turning around to lecture me every few seconds then everyone is gonna wake up anyhow and then we won't get our bounty anyway."

My glare hardened as in my mind I prepared several ways of torturing him. Such as using him as an ornament on my Redtail, although since that might hurt it, I'd probably have to use Jet's ship...

I turned back and started jogging up the stairs, fury making me run faster, as if my subconscious was trying to punish Greg in some way. However, my body wasn't in compliance with my mind, as shortly after I started feeling the effort on my muscles. Before long I was starting to wheeze with the effort of it, my footfalls, once light, now were pounding the stairs in counterpoint to my breathing. Greg, the ass, was running lightly behind me, pressing at my heels in an almost-attempt at passing me. I looked further up the damnable staircase and thought that I saw the end. A really far length off.

Next up to damn was the fact that I had let myself get soft since that time when I was hunted. Gambling and then the Bebop had kept my mind running but lessened the time I would normally spend exercising and keeping my body in top working order. The result was being shown up by a pompous pig who'd brought up bad memories.

_No. _A part of me spoke up. That would be my immense pride. I took the pain and pushed myself to go faster. Yeah, about a snail's crawl faster.

Finally, the landing was beneath my feet, and I just barely managed to stay standing, if slightly bent over. And gagging because I was trying to slow my breathing. Greg strode past me with the grace of a panther, a knowing smirk on his face as he eyed me, one of his eyebrows raised in an unspoken question. His eyes were the part that I felt like scratching out, as triumph ruled supreme in them.

I thought I heard him chuckle, and the urge to deck him was strong enough to heat my blood in a deep rage. Only, I was so winded I couldn't even straiten up all the way. I don't think I'd been in this bad of shape since I'd gotten out of cryo.

"Room 420, right?" I panted, just to distract him from the point that he was in much better shape than I was.

"Yeah," he turned to stare at me, "You outta shape or something?" He taunted, his lips forming a grin that was too much to bear.

"Shut up." I grunted, half-heartedly swatting at his head. He just chuckled and gestured for me to continue on. I shook my head at him but moved down the doors, looking for room 420. My heartbeat quickened almost imperceptibly, not with too much exertion, but rather excitement. It had been awhile since I had been on a hunt, and I was looking forward to this one, although it probably wouldn't be as exciting as most. I prowled along the doors, or rather, attempted to prowl, as I was still winded from the jog up the stairs.

"How much is this bounty worth again?" I whined at Greg, when I had found the door.

"9 thousand W." He answered, grinning at me from opposite the door. He then knelt so he was on a level with the lock, and brought out a few tools to open it with. He glowed with satisfaction as the lock snicked open.

"Where'd you learn how to do this shit, anyhow?" I asked curiously as he moved to the slide lock. He took quite awhile on this one, and I thought I heard him mutter a few curses as he struggled with it.

"Ah, there we go," he murmured to himself as he miraculously opened the slide lock. He turned to me and nodded to the open door. "These little tricks? I learned them a while back, doing odd jobs wherever I could find them."

"And one of them involved picking locks," I snorted in a flat voice, more a statement than a question.

"After you," he gestured for me to precede him into the room, neatly sidestepping my question. Even for a man, he was extraordinarily aggravating. I rolled my eyes, but otherwise stepped into the room ahead of him, gun up.

The sight immediately appalled me. While I'm not the model of cleanliness, this guy would've made any slob look neat. Piles of clothing lay scattered on the floor, with what looked like stains adorning them in the half-light. Trash was liberally thrown about, in amongst the clothing, some half-empty food cartons spilling onto the floor. Or rather, the clothing that covered the floor. From where I stood, it appeared the trashcan was only half full.

I shook my head in disgust and wrinkled my nose as an unappealing odor wafted up to me, made up of dirty clothing and old food. I stepped carefully and as silently as possible through the litter, almost dancing in my urge to step around as much of the refuse as possible.

"Ugh. This is disgusting," I muttered as we neared the bed, mostly clean in comparison to the floor. At least there wasn't any food on it.

"Alright Greg, knock him unconscious." I stopped short of the bed, looking around the room in horrified fascination. Greg sighed and muttered to himself something about ditz-headed females. I glared at him, but as usual, he wasn't looking. Even if he had been, he wouldn't have cared.

"Is it even possible to knock a sleeping person unconscious?" He eyed the man, bringing the heel of the gun down on the man's head.

I looked around once more, something about the mess bothering me. It seemed almost if drawers had been torn open instead of casually left hanging. Like the trashcans had been spilled out onto the floor.

"It looks like someone else was already here." I mused, voicing my thought aloud, turning to stare down at the man who was supposedly the cause of the mess.

And I realized he wasn't the bounty head. I heard a click behind me, very loud next to my rapidly beating heart.

"That's because they already were." Rang a cold voice behind us, and I turned around slowly, Greg following suit with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"Drop your weapons and kick them over slowly." The man I recognized as the bounty head ordered, keeping his gun leveled at us.

I looked over to Greg, who was obeying the bounty head with a slow sullenness and a twist to his mouth that betrayed his anger at having become the quarry. My mind still screaming at me to do something to get out of the situation, I reluctantly followed Greg's action.

It was almost unreal, with the way this had happened. Just a little while ago I had been enraged at Greg, ready to deck him and hurt him in any way possible. Now he was my only ally in a situation that only spoke of defeat. I lowered my eyes to where my gun was and wondered how Jet would find out we'd been killed.

So much for this being an easy job.

__

SEE YOU LATER, COWGIRL

HOPEFULLY. 

A/N: Okay, first I would like to apologize for how long it's been since the last chapter. Yes, I deserve to be yelled at or whatever, I know. I won't give you pointless excuses, but I will say that since school has started you might be seeing some chronic lateness. It can't be avoided. That and lately, I have not been in a typing mood...I'll probably get someone to do it for me...*sigh* Sooo...I hope you at least enjoyed the chapter...and I hope it was a decent cliffhanger. That, and does it seem like Faye and Jet are exhibiting unusual amounts of OOCness? Maybe it's cuz I wrote it or whatever, but it seems strange to me...

Oh well, I'm ranting again (go figure). Once again, I'm sorry. R&R please, and have a good week...hopefully I'll update soon.

Luv ya'll who've reviewed so far! (I check it every time i get on ff.net, and i check my e-mail pretty regularily, so don't worry, it is getting read and appreciated!)

|Treekat|~*

Oh, and as a side note, Tiki men rule!!!


	7. Caught by a Bounty Head

****

Disclaimer: Yeah, as we all know i don't own cowboy bebop or anything related to it except for this story, and even then i don't get any money for it. all i get is reviews...which aren't that many...(which reminds me, i had the thing on no anonymous reviews for some unknown reason...anyhow it's off now....um yeah...)

Oh! and before i forget i'd like to thank alley_cat for keeping me semi sane and listening to me complain about how i hate typing, and on helping me start up our other story, which i will put out soon. Hopefully.

~*~

"Now, I don't want either of you to move." The man ordered, with a smirk.

I just glared at nothing, refusing to believe even I had this bad of luck. I really felt like hurting something; here I was looking forward to a fairly good day and it was turned around to when I was the one at the butt of bad luck. And it hadn't even been that hard of an assignment, either! I felt my resentment towards Greg blur a bit as I appreciated him as my only current ally, but also blamed him for the current situation. If he hadn't taken so long with making up the so-called 'plan' that was really self-explanatory, then we'd have been out of here already! Besides, who had ever heard of the bounty hunter caught by the bounty head?! It was like I was the main focus of an extremely bad galactic joke. It was horribly unfair.

Yet the gun was pointed at me, so I could do nothing but obey the freak that held it. Until he made a mistake, that is, and I took control over his sorry ass. I savored the thought, however unlikely it was. It was one of the only things keeping me sane at the moment. Otherwise I'd be shouting that I really didn't care and force the bounty head to shoot me.

I watched the bounty head pace back and forth in front of us for awhile, after tying us so we couldn't overpower him and turn the situation around to what was _supposed_ to be happening. It was rather weird, because he paced the same amount of steps each time, five one way, turn, five the other, turn...

I wondered idly if by some weird urge he was trying to annoy us. It really wouldn't have surprised me, given the gall this guy had to wait in ambush for the bounty hunters. Really, who did that? Well, if he was, it was paying off because it was sure as hell annoying me. I couldn't try to escape or talk to Greg because the idiot was right in front of us, and because he appeared to be thinking hard about something I felt I couldn't trust him to be stupid like most bounty heads are. I mean, for all I knew he was debating with himself about whether or not to kill us. If it were me, the bounty hunters would be dead, and I would be gone.

My stomach rumbled alarmingly loud as I belatedly realized that by now we should've been done and would've eaten. As if the thought had woken it up, my stomach then decided to let me feel its emptiness. I looked down at it in sorrow. If I was gonna die, I at LEAST wanted to die on a full stomach. 

I tried to suppress a wince as it made more weak noises. I supposed that I should be used to it being empty, but it had never been empty and nervous before at the same time. The effect of it was really rather queasy feeling. I suddenly felt the deepest of loathing for the bounty head. What presumption to capture a bounty hunter!

A strangled laugh interrupted my frustrated contemplation of my stomach. I looked up, startled, to see the bounty head staring at Greg and I with the intensity of a madman. I don't think any other stare had made me feel so...nervous before.

I exchanged a tense look with Greg, wondering if that lunatic bounty head was going to kill us now, or do some really weird and psychotic torture or something like that...

"I will be needing an outgoing ship." The deranged lunatic spoke abruptly, still pinning us with that intense stare.

Greg and I exchanged another look.

"I'm sorry, we can't help you with that." I purred, my voice dripping with sweetness.

"That's too bad, 'cuz if you're of no use to me, well," he brought the gun up to bear on us, "Then I don't need you taggin' along." The bounty head's voice hardened, his words ringing coldly in my ears, and I felt sweat just as cold as his tone break out on my forehead.

"So, have you a ship for me now?" His voice was cruelly mocking. 

Out of my peripheral vision I saw Greg stiffen, a snarl carved into his features, his chin lifted as if to dare the bounty head on to killing him. I turned my head to stare at him, feeling my eyes widen a little with the truth crashing down around me. So this was to be it, then. The sweat on my forehead beaded, one drop of it rolling down the side of my face. My breathing came faster as I stared at the gun. How many had stared down one, with these oddly calm thoughts running through their minds? Well, it didn't matter. Just like whether or not Spike was dead or alive wouldn't matter to me shortly. But I still hoped Jet would find him okay...

A thought suddenly and viciously erupted into my mind as the bounty head grinned, moving the gun between Greg and I.

__

What the hell am I thinking?!

Who the hell am I, a drama queen? Some loyal and dedicated little comrade? I am, no matter what my memories screamed at me, Faye Valentine. And she has no comrades.

"Oh, you mean _a _ship." I affected a little smile, "I thought you meant my own _personal _ship. Well now I can get you the dock number of a perfectly capable ship and open it for you, for my freedom and life, of course," I gushed, leaning back with a guise of ease, ignoring Greg's steadily widening eyes.

"You bitch!" Greg screamed, his glare and snarl now fixed on me. Why should he care? He'd only been on board for what, a day?

"Well, we all have to survive somehow, hm?" I smiled sweetly at him before turning my smile onto the bounty head, who was looking thoughtful.

"How about freeing me and we can use him for a hostage and get out of here?"

The bounty head snorted a laugh, "A little backstabber. Go figure. I'm not an idiot, I'm sure as hell not freeing you. However, I will cut your leg bonds."

True to his words, the man cut my leg bonds loose. I stood up gratefully, trying to ignore Greg's baleful stare. I guess Jet hadn't told Greg all that much about me after all.

"Take him, and tell me which dock it is." The bounty head ordered, picking up some of the guns scattered on the floor,

"I can't direct him with my hands tied." I pointed out smoothly, holding up my bound hands and refusing to look at Greg's suddenly hopeful eyes.

The man stared at me for a moment, his brow furrowed as he stared at me with dark eyes. Finally he moved over near me and stood still, his hands hovering over my bound ones.

"Do you swear on your family, pride, and status as a bounty hunter that you won't double cross me?" He looked at me sternly. Well, maybe he was an idiot after all.

"On that and my skill of slight of hand," I replied solemnly, allowing no trace of the triumph flowing within me to show. The bounty head grunted and began to untie my bonds. How stupid could you get? He was actually going to trust _me_?

He looked up at me, desperation lingering in his eyes; a knowing that if he couldn't trust somebody he'd be caught, just like that. It was strange, that through all of my catches I had never seen someone with that look, that had so mirrored what had once been in my eyes...

*flashback*

Harsh breathing filled my ears, edged with a certain panic. I hid in a dirty alley, mixing with the street trash so I couldn't be found. Oh, how the mighty had indeed fallen. I had never thought that I would be running away from anyone, but now...

I stifled a whimper as my hunter stepped through the trash delicately. My hands flew to my face as I tried to slow my breathing and sobs. Terrified thoughts fled through my mind as past events played through my head. I felt disgraced and weak as I wondered what had come over me to join a syndicate in the first place. And fall for that asshole...

The bounty hunter had left.

I let my breath out in a sob, further shaming myself to feel tears spring up. I just couldn't live like this. I had to do something somehow, to get some money. I had made a name for myself _by_ myself in the first place, by joining up with that syndicate. I could do it again, somehow.

As I was looking down at the ground in my self-pity I caught my reflection in a piece of broken glass. Could that horribly dirty creature really be me? Horrified at what had become of me I swore to myself, for the second time that week, that I would never trust a man, not ever again.

*end flashback*

My stare hardened. I had never let my conscience dictate me before and I wouldn't let it dictate my actions now. Besides, that was a long time ago. I dove for the gun in his hand, easily wrestling it out of his suddenly motionless hand. I held it up to him, looking into eyes filled with shock.

"You- you swore!" He yelped.

"I didn't actually swear." I replied coolly, "now, why should I help you?" I snarled, a little part of me was scalded with red-hot anger that I was actually feeling pity and worse yet, sympathy for the man.

"What?" The bounty head and Greg both stared wide-eyed at me. I sighed, wondering what _was _I doing?

"Why should I, a bounty hunter, help you, a bounty head?" I snapped, staring coldly at the man.

He continued to stare at me, the implications of what I had said slowly dawning in his mind.

"Help...me..." he murmured weakly, his voice dwindling into nothing.

"Yes." I bit off the word, not even daring to look at Greg.

"There is...a man, who betrayed me. He's worth a lot of money, you'll see. I had a deal with him and he made it look as if I'd been involved in his dirty business so a bounty was placed on my head, but his is much larger, only he bribed someone so it was never put out..." The man babbled quickly, his eyes begging me for a chance.

My consciousness damned me in four different ways as I realized belatedly that I had hooked myself into this as soon as I'd asked.

"Where do you need to go?" I asked wearily, closing my eyes against the sudden brightness in his.

__

What the hell am I doing?

"Earth! That's all I need, I swear! Just get me to Earth and I can do the rest! All you'll need to do is wait for me!"

I looked at him, shocked, wondering at the coincidence. Then I grinned, "For once, it's all going for me. That's where we're headed, only," suddenly my grin broke, "We're delayed a bit on takeoff."

The bounty head wasn't dismayed in the least, "That's perfect! I know where a few bounties are hiding in here! We can get some easy cash, well, it won't be much, but it'll make up for mine, at least." He spread his hands in a shrug.

"In fact, if we wait a little longer, there may be some more scum coming after me tonight." He spat in the direction of the bed. "They may be bounties."

I beamed, thinking that maybe it would be worth it after all. And maybe Jet wouldn't lecture me all that much about picking up strays or whatever. I seemed to do it a lot, as it was. First had been that little rat Ed, and now this guy, whoever he was.

As the bounty went to pick up some clothes and stuff them in a bag, I moved to untie Greg from where he was sitting, stubbornly ignoring his disproving glare.

"What's this sudden turn of heart about?" He asked me coldly, his upper lip curling with scorn. I eyed him warily, wondering why he had his boxers or whatever up in a bunch. Jet had only just recruited him the other day. He shouldn't be so loyal for being so new. What a conscience-ridden ass he was going to be to work with.

"Hey- bounty head, Greg is going to need a gun." I called to the bounty head, who had reappeared with a bag stuffed to the bursting point. He nodded, and somehow produced one from out of his pants pocket. He tossed it over to me, and I gave it to Greg.

"Ah, but how stupid of me. I forgot to tell you my name, and I don't think it would be wise to go around calling me 'bounty head'. My name is Pairin. How about yours?"

"I'm Faye. My cheerful companion is Greg." I responded shortly, as Pairin went back to stuffing more items into his already full bag, humming a slow, solemn tune.

I tried not to stare at him as he bustled around, picking up this and that, alternating whistling and humming that oddly melancholy tune. My mind was whirling as I stared at him, with what I'd put myself into with helping a bounty head, of all things!

I scowled to myself, thinking that lately, I seemed to be in such caring moods. Next thing I'd probly be picking strays off the streets and mothering everyone. I shuddered at the thought, chasing it from my mind, a memory playing in my head of when I'd done just that...

Greg's glare was boring into me, as I became aware of it. Had he just been standing there, watching me, since I'd released him? I directed my scowl right back at him. What did he know, anyhow? He took the safety off of his gun, and I gulped, not liking the way he was going about it. He shot a disgusted look at Pairin and cleared his throat.

"How long are we gonna wait?" He asked gruffly, standing with a deadly air.

"Oh, an hour or two." I answered airily, fully aware once more of my empty stomach.

"So how are we going to do this, then?" Greg asked curtly, relaxing his stance a bit.

"I'm now ready," Pairin called suddenly, clutching the overstuffed bag and a few items he probably couldn't fit into the bag. "Now let's catch the bastards!" His grin was suddenly feral.

"You and Faye can sit on either side of the door. I'll sit on the bed. When they come it, clobber 'em and we'll see if they're bounty heads or not. That one is." Pairin gestured to the bed; his smile still plastered to his face. I shrugged. 

"Sounds good enough to me."

~*~

**__**

GOOD HUNTING, COWGIRL 

a/n: I have decided, since I am working on around four stories right now and have tons of english homework (and I'm still not done with _any_ of their first chapters...) that I will not be continuing this story unless I get AT LEAST 3 reviews per chapter. So, please review, if only because you want me to continue this.

Teaser (sorry I forgot last weeks!):

I was face to face with the woman I'd never expected to see again.

Wavy blond hair that had once extended down her back had been cropped short to shoulder length.

Piercing blue eyes that were melancholy, and yet seemed to know everything.

And a smile that could easily trap any man, and make any woman instantly jealous.

She was smiling now.

At me.

When she was supposed to be dead.

~*

Well, hm, wonder who that could be? Next time, _The Past Resurges_. (if u ever want to read it, u gotta review!!! and i will not count three reviews from the same person, unless they _really_ want me to continue)

|Treekat|~*


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